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Hello...and thank you for taking the time to read my bio and hopefully join me on a journey packed with exciting cutting-edge routing and switching technology; a journey that will position you for Cisco certification and a rewarding career as a network engineer. I’m very grateful for the opportunity to share my Cisco knowledge and experience with you. I have accumulated over a decade of networking/routing/switching experience before attempting to film my first video, have researched every point and fact, have tested every implementation of concept from the certification track of objectives and all related technologies thoroughly. I want you to know that if I mention something in a video, I have personally researched and tested that concept or implementation. The CCNA series of 40 videos has taken approximately 9 months to produce. I mention this because I want you to have confidence in the accuracy of material presented, I want you to be able to relax and enjoy the discussion of what I think is the most exciting subject for an IT professional to explore. I do believe that no one person can know everything within the realm of network engineering, and that in the “real world we survive through collaboration and teamwork, but I have made every effort to make these videos a complete and comprehensive source of information. I began my career in networking in 1989 as a Communications Specialist in the Air Force. I served in Germany, Italy, and finally in Charleston, South Carolina. I began as a line-of-sight microwave technician, and shortly thereafter was transferred to the field of computer network infrastructure support. As a network engineer, my responsibility became the care and feeding of all the routers, switches, and hubs in Metropolitan Area Networks serving over 80 buildings. You've heard the term baptism by fire? Well I'm here to tell you, that flame is HOT. This situation turned out to be one of the biggest blessings in my career. I learned more than I thought possible and found my second true love (My first would definitely be my beautiful wife and family). While serving as the lead network engineer for the Charleston Base Network Control Center the network was chosen as one of the first three bases to move to a high speed all fiber ATM network. Ultimately, Charleston served as a model base for all Combat Information Transport System (CITS) initiatives in the global theater, and was named as a prototype base for the Base Information Protect initiative (the first Air Force wide step in preparing for computer warfare). At this point, I was promoted to Base Information Protection Officer. This role gave me a new prospective on networks and I quickly found out that it was much easier to build a network than it was to keep attackers from knocking it down! It represented a paradigm shift in my mind, I no longer built in network functionality just because I could, from this point on I made sure I should. My days of building, nurturing, and protecting military networks were very rewarding, but as it is with most things...there comes a time to move on. I left the service to work as a tier II Network Engineer for a Fortune 50 company out of California. In my new role I came to support many diverse networks, many of which belonged to Fortune 500 companies, including banks and medical facilities. I quickly advanced to the level of a tier III engineer. Now I was responsible for product/service development as well as customer network support. I served as the technical adviser in the development of the company's first security offering. This offering centered around router security, firewalls, and Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS). I was chosen as a practice manager and progressed to the position of Acting Director for the company's Global Security department. I collected many great experiences, contacts, and lessons while serving in this position, but I longed to get back elbow deep into the technology, so I resigned as Acting Director and dove back into the customer support arena as a Tier III Network Security Engineer. As life would have it, I am now in the most rewarding position of my career. I am developing and teaching Cisco Nuggets for CBT Nuggets Inc. The opportunity to keep the "Network Train" rolling by helping well-trained and qualified engineers on board is the best position I could ask for. I appreciate the opportunity to accompany you on a journey that will lead to a most rewarding career. I would love to hear any comments you might have, and I wish you good luck in your studies. | 